Former NRL player Jamil Hopoate has been jailed for his role in a $150 million cocaine ring.
The former Brisbane lock, who has twice been jailed for violent incidents, was arrested at gunpoint during a police sting in May 2021.
Federal police had found 514kg of cocaine hidden in a consignment of toolboxes, replaced it with an innocuous powder and then tracked it as it was distributed across Sydney.
The son of former Manly winger John Hopoate and brother of former Canterbury star Will was seen collecting eight blocks of powder and then riding in a van that was stopped by police.
Hopoate was paid between $7000 and $10,000 to move the slabs but had no profit stake in the cocaine supply, the District Court was told last week.
While the Crown has accepted Hopoate has reasonable prospects of rehabilitation, it submitted the court needed to send a message to…
